Even while dousing multiple fires on their home turf, the CBI wants the world to believe that everything is functioning as usual within the organisation. But with barely hours having gone by since its Director Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana were sent on forced leave , the country’s premier investigating agency put out the message that M Nageswara Rao has taken over as the interim director of the CBI.
There are different versions of how things unfolded between 6 PM and midnight on the night of October 23 at the CBI headquarters. But what is clear is that Rao took charge of the agency’s reins on that very day. Apparently, the Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC), in its order dated 23 October, had divested CBI Director Alok Verma of his powers. Later, on October 24, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely addressed the national media and informed them that both—the number one (Director Alok Verma) and number two (Special Director Rakesh Asthana)— of the CBI had been divested of their powers.
